The project involves removing an auxiliary lock chamber measuring 56 ft by 360 ft and building a new 110-ft-by-600-ft primary lock chamber, according to the Corps’ Pittsburgh District, which is leading the work. The team is expected to use in-the-wet construction initially for parts of the lock wall monoliths, according to Kirk McWilliams, construction division area engineer with the Corps. Then crews will install a cofferdam and dewater the work area, and the remainder of the monoliths will be built in the dry. 

Deconstruction of the auxiliary lock chamber is set to start in the spring. Work is expected to completed in 2030. 

Vessels will be able to continue using the current 110-by-600-ft primary lock chamber during construction. 

Plans call for new locks at three upper Ohio River dams. Courtesy U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

The Montgomery Locks and Dam were originally built from 1932 to 1936. Twelve million tons of goods are transported through the locks by barge each year, according to the Corps. 

The work is part of a larger Corps initiative called the Upper Ohio Navigation Project, which involves building new primary lock chambers at three aging dams along the Ohio River in Pennsylvania. The others are the Emsworth and Dashields dams. 

All three were originally built in the 1920s and ‘30s and rehabilitated in the 1980s and ‘90s to extend their service life by 25 years. They are again nearing the end of their useful life, and Corps officials say they need larger lock chambers to accommodate modern tows. As of January, officials estimated the cost for the project at all three dams at a combined $2.1 billion. 

“This project is vital to ensuring safe and reliable navigation on the upper Ohio River,” Col. Nicholas Melin, commander of the Pittsburgh District, said in a statement. 

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 included more than $1 billion for the Upper Ohio Navigation Project.